Monday, September 29, 2014

Denver, Colorado · Engineering

I am a telecommunications professional, wife and mother. My mind and heart are full, although my house is a mess.What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?Spanish - it was a respite from Engineering and now I can talk to my mother-in-law. Linear Algebra - it was a mental discipline similar to what I do today.What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?Looking upon the lights of Ithaca (from the Blue Light bus); swimming in the falls; laughing with student and local friends...What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?Be kind to yourself and persist in finding what enriches your life and others.If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?They say not to take yourself seriously. I get that now. I would experience Cornell with a lightness in my mind, heart and soul.

Monday, September 22, 2014

Dallas, Texas · Agriculture and Life Sciences

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.I am a wife and mother of two little girls—2 and 3 years old. We live in Dallas, Texas, and I work for Lucchese, bootmakers since 1883, in an operations role. I love my job, love Texas, and plan to make this our permanent home.What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?Wines! Wasn't that everyone's favorite?What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?Friends, spending hours at the cafeteria for dinner, slope days. How tough it was but at the same time rewarding and enriching. Wouldn't change it for the world, Cornell is a place that will always be special to me.What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?Work and play hard, don't lose perspective of why you're there. You are surrounded by talented people, however don't be intimidated, you are as smart and talented as everyone else. Make the most of this stimulating environment, won't always be like that once you leave Cornell.

San Jose, California · Engineering

If you could paint a picture of the American dream, you'd have my life. I have a wonderful career in software engineering, a beautiful and talented wife, an adorable and rambunctious 10-month-old son, and a charming house around the corner from neighborhood shops and restaurants.

Some highlights:

I met my wife in a running group, and got her attention by inviting her to go flying with me!

I have sung in an a cappella group called Hookslide for the last 15 years. We've opened for Kool and the Gang, Tower of Power, and, recently, Joan Rivers. Before Hookslide, I had several failed attempts to join groups, including one called Rolls Voyce.

I got my pilot's license in 2005, and am slowly working on becoming an instructor.

I was employee #2 with my current company, HealthLoop - we connect patients to their doctors between visits via a secure web-based app.What was your favorite class at Cornell, or the one you found the most useful?I don't remember the name of the class, but part of it was programming computers to control lab instruments using Assembly language. It gave me a foundation to understand the connection between programming and what's happening internally in a computer. As languages become more advanced, that link becomes harder to discern on one's own.What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this year?Enjoy the whole experience. Cornell is not just about the education you receive in the classroom, though that is top-notch. Cornell offers a chance to pursue just about anything you're interested. So, join clubs, go hiking, take day trips, take chances.

Also, no matter what anyone tells you, your career is NOT more important than your personal connections.If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?I wish I could have had a better idea of what my values, likes and dislikes were when I was in college. Turns out, I love being outdoors, eating organic mostly vegetarian food, and doing the singer-songwriter thing with my guitar. I can't think of a better place to do all that than Ithaca! But I did way too little of it when I was at Cornell.

Monday, September 8, 2014

To celebrate the beginning of the school year, this week we're running a special profile of a member of the class of 1995 and her daughter, a member of the class of 2017!

New York City and Ithaca, New York · Human Ecology and Agriculture and Life Sciences

njemiledavis@yahoo.comTwitter: www.twitter.com/cutiepahtootieFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/njemile.davisTell us about what you're doing with your life.Njemile:I'm currently working at a national social justice organization, supporting fair and affordable housing programs in 32 cities across the country. Now that Surayya's at Cornell, I'm finding a little more time to both indulge my interests and explore some new ones including sewingTell us about your experience at CornellSurayya:Cornell was definitely tough at first, but now I love it. And actually miss it after only being away for 3 weeks [in June]. Cornell is an amazing place and I am so excited to be attending my mother's alma mater.What is your favorite memory of your time at Cornell?Njemile:I have so many fond memories of my time at Cornell! My favorite is walking through the arts quad for the first time. It was night so hardly anyone was out except my host and I. The trees were beautifully canopied, the lights twinkling and a divine hush had surrounded us. I never considered another school after that! I was head over heels in love.What has been your favorite class so far?Surayya:Definitely my first year writing seminar in the Africana department. The class is titled Terror in Black Memoir and we were able to read and discuss the titles 12 Years a Slave,The Black Notebooks by Toi Derricott, The Fire Next Time, and excerpts from Audre Lorde's work. This class was the first class I had ever had taught by a black female teacher. In my whole life. And it definitely shaped the direction of our discussions. It is probably also one of the most diverse groups of students on campus in terms of race.Which Cornell classmates do you keep in touch with?Njemile:I've been able to keep in touch and reconnect with soo many 95'rs thanks to Facebook. I've also been able to spend quality time with Danetria Craig, Hugh LaRoche, Avery Seawright, Kevin Minter, Davenel Denis, Janelle Green, Kentayahnee Murray, Lauren Davidson, Tamara Webb, Thais Jimenez, Denise Anderson, Vicki Meyers, Donna Holder, Roy Clovis, Frantz Cayo, Jabari and Anika Osaze, Jonel Daphnis, Rich Medina and Baye Adolfo Wilson... and more... all of whom I can wholeheartedly say are doing it well! Our network gets bigger and stronger every year, so I'm hoping everyone will come to reunion!Do you participate in any extracurricular activities or clubs on campus?Surayya:Yes. I am the logistics chair of the Women of Color Coalition, where my responsibility is providing direction for the organization and keeping everyone on task. I am also the political chair for Black Students United. For the upcoming year I plan on producing a video PSA on the Africana library and how it is so decentralized from campus. This will be a small step in my bigger goal (or rather dream) of having a new Africana library built in a more central part of campus. I also work for the Public Service Center - last fall I tutored high school students.What extracurricular activity or hobby from your time at Cornell was the most meaningful?Njemile:It was a privilege to be a founding member of Pamajoa Ni gospel ensemble and I'm thrilled that it continues to this day.What advice would you give to a student starting at Cornell this fall?Surayya:Definitely have patience and reflect a lot. And don't hesitate to ask for help (academically or emotionally) when you need it. Also take any and every opportunity that comes your way! You never know where it may lead or what doors it might open. Also apply and starting looking for internships in the beginning of spring semester, don't wait to the last minute. I found my internship in China in March and I am having an amazing experience.What are you most looking forward to during your sophomore year?Surayya:I am most interested in growing more as a student and a community member. I am excited to do great work for the women of color coalition and BSU.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Brooklyn, New York · Arts & Sciences

Tell us about what you're doing with your life.Since graduating from Cornell in 1995, I returned to Brooklyn and

Photo credit: Nicolas Maloof

got to see the borough of my birth, the Old Country, become magically transformed. I’ve published two novels, P (Soft Skull Press, 2003), and, this summer, O, Africa! (Hogarth/Crown). I’ve made my daily bread working in public relations and corporate communications. I married an amazing woman from Scotland, and have gotten the chance to see America and New York through the eyes of another culture. And, four years ago, we had a daughter, Alyth (named after a Scottish town), who is not the world’s least adorable, fun, or remarkable person.Which Cornell classmates do you keep in touch with? Anita King (’95), Bryan Wizemann (’95), Christopher Goffard (’94), David Kartch (’94), Durand Williams (’95), Erica Schoemacher (’94), Gabriella Aratow (’96), Huy Dao (’97), Jaime Villamarin (’94), Jason Lee (’93), Luke Wilcox (’96), Michael Gurton (’97), Philip Kang (’96), Rika Wilcox (’98), Sarah Jensen (’95), Trac Vu (’96), . . . and, er, my sister: Jennifer Conn (’92).If you could change anything about your Cornell experience, what would it be?I perhaps would not have been so serious, or self-serious, or quite so hardworking (!). But, then, you’re wired the way you’re wired. (And, as that great Dylan song put it, “I was so much older then/I’m younger than that now.”)What does being a Cornell alumnus mean to you?The place, and that time of life, continues to become more magical and idealized in retrospect. (Part of this, I think, is that Cornell looks in many ways like what a Platonic conception of academic life should resemble.) I just love the place, and have a fever dream about being back every three or four months or so. I’m just enormously grateful for having been there, for that time of my life.